The present invention relates generally to pet litter box assemblies and, more particularly, to a self-cleaning pet litter box assembly wherein clumped material is separated from reusable unclumped litter material.
A large number of households have one or more animal pets. Domestic cats in particular are estimated to live in over thirty million homes all or most of the day. A litter box or the like is a necessity for such homes. In fact, basic litter boxes which are rectangular-shaped with a height of about four to five inches have been used for many years. While much development work has been expended in producing improved litter material to make it more absorbent, odor-free, dust-free, etc., very little change has occurred in the basic litter box itself. Those boxes being presently commercialized are remarkably similar to those of several years ago.
Maintaining pet litter boxes requires frequent cleaning and attention. This job is unpleasant due to odor. Strong odor and unsanitary conditions develop quickly if the pet litter box is not properly maintained on a frequent basis. Busy schedules and travel make proper attention to the pet litter boxes difficult.
The basic conventional litter boxes are popular simply because they have proven themselves effective. Cats are readily trained to use them. The biggest drawback associated with the conventional litter box is a need to periodically remove soiled litter material and replenish it with new litter material. Any cat owner will attest to the fact cats are fastidious. They will not use a litter box which contains what they consider an excessive amount of soiled litter material. The cat owner can at that point simply dump the full contents of the litter box into the trash or otherwise dispose of it. This, of course, is wasteful and expensive in that a substantial amount of unsoiled litter material is being disposed of along with the soiled litter material. It is more common for the cat owner to try to segregate soiled from unsoiled litter material. This is possible because most litter materials are designed to clump when wetted. Various scoops are sold for this purpose. However, the task of scooping clumped soiled litter material and cat feces from a litter box is still an arduous and unpleasant task.
The problem with cleaning and keeping the contents of a litter box in a state which is acceptable to the cat is well recognized. Several attempts have been made over the years to remedy the problem. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,846,104, 5,048,464, and 5,662,066 are directed to self-cleaning litter systems wherein specially configured spherical or cylindrical containers rotate in a manner to separate clumped from unclumped litter material. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,574,735, 5,048,465 and 5,477,812 are also directed to self-cleaning litter systems. Basically, the systems have a stationary litter container and a rake or comb-type device that periodically moves through litter in the container to separate out clumped material. The clumped material is directed to a separate disposal system as part of the process. U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,119 is directed to a self-cleaning litter system including a horizontally rotatable litter container and a raking mechanism for gathering and removing animal waste from the rotating litter container and depositing the waste into a collection container. The raking mechanism is moved from a position in contact with the litter material to a parked position clear of the litter material after depositing the gathered waste into the collection container.
The systems and articles described in the prior art are either too complex, too expensive or simply do not work for one reason or another. It is evident that cat owners recognize the drawbacks of known litter boxes. It is surmised that most would be willing to invest added money into a self-cleaning pet litter box if it truly worked.
There is clearly an ongoing need for an improved pet litter box cleaning system. Any improvement must take into account the cat""s habits and needs. Most importantly, it must not increase the cat owner""s cleaning efforts or add to the unpleasantness of the task. In accord with this recognized need, there has been developed a pet litter box assembly which meets known needs. The assembly is a self-cleaning pet litter box which is effective without significant disadvantages.
A self-cleaning pet litter box assembly includes a pet litter container mounted for substantially horizontal rotation on a base member. The pet litter container is motor driven to rotate and during the rotation segregate clumped material from unclumped litter material. A motor is mounted on the base member and is operatively connected to the litter container to slowly and continuously or intermittently rotate the container. The pet litter box assembly also includes a stationary or fixed separating member that extends into the litter within the litter container. As the litter container rotates, clumped and unclumped litter material move into contact with the separating member. Unclumped litter passes through the separating member and remains in the litter container for reuse. Soiled clumped litter is retained on the separating member and is directed away to a waste receptacle. A conveyor may be provided to convey the separated-out clumped litter material toward the waste receptacle. The pet owner periodically must empty or replace the waste receptacle, however, the task in less often and not as unpleasant as before.